An investigation of the deposition of a-SiC:H films in a remote H plasma environment using tetramethylsilane, hexamethyldisilane and tetrakis(trimethylsilyl)silane was carried out. All these monomers produce a-SiC:H films in the presence of atomic hydrogen. The stoichiometry and E_opt of the films deposited are found to depend on the substrate temperature. All the films deposited show photoluminescence (PL) when excited with 325 nm laser light. Films deposited at room temperature shows a blue-white PL. The PL intensity drops with an increase of substrate temperature used for the deposition. Further a red shift of the PL is observed with an increase of substrate temperature. In addition, a reaction scheme for the film formation is modeled through the generation of Me₂Si=CH₂ precursor.